NEWS

On Wednesday, March 29th, Borough President James S. Oddo hosted “A Conversation with the Class of 2017” at P.S. 48. At the event, student reporters from Island high schools asked BP Oddo about quality-of-life issues affecting Staten Island, which opened up a back-and-forth dialogue between BP Oddo and the students.

Topics that students were interested in were varied and ranged from the opioid epidemic to education to transportation.

In addition, Chris Pansini of the YMCA Counseling Service spoke to the students about his own battle with addiction and emphasized the importance of treatment.

“You are the future, and it's inspiring to see how civically engaged you are,” BP Oddo told the students. “I appreciate how passionate you are about these issues and hope that you will help us work towards making Staten Island a better place to live.”

Students from Curtis High School, Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning High School, Michael J. Petrides School, Monsignor Farrell High School, Moore Catholic High School, New Dorp High School, Port Richmond High School, Ralph R. McKee Career & Technical Education High School, Staten Island Technical High School, St. Peter’s High School for Boys, Susan Wagner High School and Tottenville High School participated in the forum.

The “Conversation” concept was born in 2015 and has become an annual event.